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Topic: Caerphilly first try (Read 1176 times)

I guess I didn't feel like taking notes that day. I used a recipe I found on this board (notes that it is "adapted from recipes by Peter Dixson") and 2 gallons Battenkill Valley P/H milk on February 3rd. I hope that no notes means that I didn't deviate significantly from the recipe, since the end result is tasty. I don't hve the EZAl culture mixed meso/thermo so I probably mixed 3 parts MA11 and 1 part TA61. I cut the wheel in half horizontally and sealed up the balance to age out a bit more, but it is nice and sharp, a little crumbly. Guess there is some chili coming tonight.

Bob, it looks really nice! How long did you age it? The rind looks very pristine compared to some of mine. I like this type of cheese for it's ease of make and it's wide range of tastiness. If I was better at remembering flavors I could comment on whether it's worth using some adjunct cultures to add complexities on this relatively young type of cheese but oh well.......maybe someone else with a more developed palate will do that. How was the flavor of yours?

Thanks, Tiarella. It's 25 days old. I just couldn't wait any longer to try it. I was starting to get some opportunistic blue, time to bag.

Rather than try to remember when each cheese needs turning or brushing, they all get turned and brushed daily. Now that I have spilled over into a second fridge it may become one for the older once a week guys and the other for the younger cheeses. Like a 55 and older community for cheese.

It tastes pretty much as I expected, cheddary, a bit tangy and it's on the crumbly side. At this young age it tastes more like a quality sharp cheddar than grocery store "extra sharp" variety. I wanted something quick since I have so many slow aging cheeses. A friend challenged me to a chili cook-off, and this seems like it will be a perfect cheese for my mild (anyone can eat it) chili.

I have some LBC80 that I will add to the next batch to see what happens. It's supposed to help prevent bitterness with aging. Not sure if caerphilly ages enough for LBC80 to do its thing, but I'll let you know in a month or so.

I like caerphilly at 3 weeks, so to me, you cut it at just the right time! And, by the sounds of it, the result is bang on. Well done and a cheese to your success. My view is that if you're going to make a cheese for aging out, then make a traditional cheddar. Caerphilly has always been intended as a quick to eat cheese (it went to market in 2 weeks in the early 1900s), so if you're going to go to the effort of aging a cheese out, go for one that is intended to be aged. Mind you, they do make 1 year old caerphilly now, so perhaps I'm just behind the times!

- Jeff

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The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.